One of the most attractive features of the breed (apart from their sweet, loyal & loving ways!) is the beauty of their long, silky & glamorous coat.

In full ‘show’ trim, there is seldom a more beautiful dog! However, beauty has a ‘price’ and with the cocker, coat care heads the list. The cockers coat takes quite a lot of care, time and commitment from owners in order to keep it in good order.

Unfortunately, many owners having admired the beautiful coat of the breed and having bought a puppy, often because they admire the appearance of a cocker, opt to clipper off the coat… This is usually done for the most noble of reasons as many owners do not have the time for coat care, the inclination or are unable to cope with the ‘side effects’ of living with a coated breed.

Cockers being gundogs do like to rummage about in the undergrowth & splodge through puddles, not to mention the odd roll in anything unsavoury they find on their travels! These extra curricular activities do tend to transfer from dog to home and living with a fully coated dog does pose challenges for the owner!  

Daily Care

Generally speaking, cockers need frequent brushing (daily and after walks), as they are a breed which can easily mat when they are in full coat.  'Tickling' the dog with the brush isn’t good enough; brushing needs to be thorough and owners need to work from the skin to the end of the coat and over the entire body area of the dog including feathering, behind elbows, under the armpits, around the rear end & groin, under the tummy, down the chest and the ears.

Bathing

Bathing should also be a frequent occurrence and dogs should be bathed when grubby (or smelly!). Use a good quality shampoo and follow this with a good quality conditioner. There are many dog shampoos available; however, we personally use top branded ‘human’ shampoo and conditioner on our dogs. Despite the use of ‘human’ products, we haven’t noticed any drying out of the dog’s skin or any irritation.

It is important before bathing a dog to brush him out thoroughly, any tangles, if present will become more matted and harder to deal with once a dog has been bathed.

When bathing your dog it helps to have a warm room, a non slip bathmat (not nice for a dog to slip & slide around the bath!) and plenty of clean towels.

The dog should be firstly showered so he is wet, then shampoo should be applied, (mixing the shampoo in a bottle with plenty of warm water before squirting all over the dog helps to distribute the shampoo well). Once the dog is coated in shampoo (avoid the eyes!) give the dog a good massage and distribute the shampoo through the coat. The dog should then be rinsed over and under the coat (aim the shower head under the fur) until all traces of shampoo are removed and the water runs clear. If using conditioner the process is repeated before rinsing clean.

Before lifting the dog out the bath gently, squeeze as much water from the coat as possible and then towel the dog dry. Once towel dried, the dog should be blow dried. It is much easier for all concerned if this process is accomplished on a raised surface (a dog grooming table or a kitchen work counter – use a non slip bath mat or similar on the work counter to stop the dog slipping).

Drying

When you are blow drying try to brush and dry simultaneously, (as human hairdressers do). This will shorten the time it takes to dry the dog and prevent the stream of warm air creating tangles and mats in the coat.

Dogs should be 100% dry before they are allowed outside or into cooler rooms of the home.

Trimming

For a fully coated dog, trimming is an integral part of coat care. The cocker grows a thick and long coat and many grow them so fast you can almost watch the fur grow before your eyes! To see a photo of the little girl on the right after trimming, click here

Dogs which are exhibited will require quite precise trimming, however ‘pet’ dogs in full coat do not need to be quite so expertly groomed. Looking smart and being comfortable is all that is required.

Normally a dog is stripped before he is bathed. The thin patina of dirt on the coat provides a better ‘grip’ when pulling which means each pull of the coat is likely to be more effective. On a clean dog, powdered chalk can be used (apply to finger and thumb).

Any chalk in the coat must be thoroughly brushed or bathed out, as dogs for exhibition cannot have foreign substances present in their coats. The use of ‘surgical’ gloves can also give some owners a better ‘grip’.

To see a photo of the little girl on the left after trimming, click here

Traditionally the breed is hand stripped. This basically translates to ‘plucked’! To the uninitiated this sounds rather barbaric, however when done correctly it is not painful or uncomfortable for the dog.

Hair grows in a cycle, and each follicle has three strands of hair. There is the ‘baby’ strand (short new hair), the ‘middle aged’ strand (the current coat) and the ‘aged’ strand (old, dead hair).

When the coat is stripped, the ‘baby’ strands are too short to be plucked; the ‘middle aged’ strands are still strong & embedded and would require ‘Herculean’ effort to pluck (plucking is swift and gentle, not brutal) and the ‘aged’ strands which are loose and ‘hanging on by a thread’ and just about ready to be naturally shed. It is the ‘aged’ strands that are removed during stripping. They come away easily and with very little pulling effort and consequently the dog does not feel any discomfort.

Areas 'Hand Stripped'

The areas which are hand stripped are as follows:

• The top of the head – from ‘stop’ to ‘occipital bone’
• The skull where it meets the ears
• The top 1/3rd of the ears
• The edges of the muzzle (the foreface)
• Shoulders (across the back & around the top of the front legs)
• Back (to the base of the tail)
• The sides (along the line of the ribs from elbow to loin)
• Behind the elbows
• The front of the front legs
• The sides of the front legs
• The thighs (outside of the rear leg)
• All ‘feathering’
• The croup (rump)
• The upper part of the tail
• The ‘feathering’ under the tail & down the hind leg’s
• The rear pasterns (‘hock’ bone)

Areas Scissored

More delicate areas of the dog are trimmed with scissors:

• The throat (under the jaw to the top of the chest feathering) – thinning scissors
• Under the tail & around the anus – thinning scissors
• The underside of each paw, don’t cut between the pads – straight scissors
• Around each paw (foot flat on the ground) – straight scissors
• Any loose/stray hairs on the back of the ‘hock’ – straight or thinning scissors
• The ends of the ‘feathering’ (to neaten) - straight or thinning scissors
• The inside of the ear (around the ear canal – don’t let any snippets of hair fall into the ear canal as it’s very irritating) - straight or thinning scissors

How to 'hand strip'

It is easier to put a dog on a grooming table or raised surface before starting to trim. The raised surface saves back ache for you & prevents a dog from walking away!

Firstly brush the dog out thoroughly to remove any knots or tangles, after he has been thoroughly brushed he should be combed through (to ensure there are no small/hidden tangles). Next have a good look at the dog (both when he is sitting and standing), identify any areas of coat that are bulky or sticking out away from the body.  Look at the overall shape of the dog (the outline).  When you have decided which areas need attention, start to trim.

Take a bunch (several strands) of hair between finger and thumb (in your left hand if you are right-handed), fan the hair out so that it is raised away from the body and you can see the different lengths protruding from your fingers.  The longer lengths that are sticking out from your grasp are the ones to pull.  Using your right hand, forefinger and thumb, gently grasp the protruding (longer) hairs, pinch your finger & thumb together to grasp the hair and swiftly pull away from the bunch.  Repeat this process until all the hairs in your left-hand grasp are the same length.

When you have finished an area move on to another area.  Regularly brush the coat out to see the progress & identify further areas that need attention. For continuity it helps to strip the coat in a sequence. Possibly start with the face, 'stop' and top of the head, move down to the top 1/3rd of the ears. Next strip the neck and shoulders (& across the withers), move down the spine to the tail. Next strip the 'rib line', down the thighs (upper & second thigh). Next strip the front of the front legs and the side of the front legs.

The throat (under the jaw and down to the point of the breast bone) is trimmed with thinning scissors. Aim the thinning scissors under the coat and snip in an upwards direction. Do a few snips, comb and check progress. At this point you will notice the hair grows in a pattern that forms a 'V' shape, the throat hair is merging with the front of the shoulders. Hand strip the edges of the 'V' shape to blend the shoulders in with the throat.

Hand strip the upper part of the front legs so that blends in with the front feathering and throat/shoulders. The hair should sweep around from the front to the back of the leg as one.

To strip the thighs (lower thigh where it meets the foot - looking from a side view), move the hair you want to keep out of the way (push it around the front of the 'stifle joint' area), pluck the outside front of the lower thigh so the hair blends with the outside bone of the foot.

When you get to the rear of the dog, the area under the tail should look square and down the hind legs should look like partially open 'opera curtains' i.e. an inverted 'V' shape. Strip the hair away from the back end, then using a comb, part the fur that runs down the outside of the back leg (from thigh to top of the 'hock' bone). Move the left side of the parted fur over to the thigh, and the right side of the parted fur to the inner thigh. You now have a 'seam'. Pluck down the seam so that when the fur is brushed back into place, some falls naturally to either side of the hind leg.

The lower part of the hind leg (the rear pastern), know colloquially as the 'hock' should be 'tube' shaped. Hand strip out the volume of coat required to form a neat 'tube', tidy the area up with the scissors. Hold either the scissors or thinners straight up and down (vertically) to the 'hock' area and take snip small amounts of any fur that is sticking out from the 'tube' shape.

Scissoring

Once all surplus hair is plucked out, brush the dog out & look at his outline again. Using scissors trim the hair from the surface of each foot pad (across the pads, don’t trim in between the toes/pads or you will create a 'starfish' shaped foot rather than a 'cat like' foot).  Stand the dog up to trim around each foot so he is distributing his bodyweight equally over all four feet, next trim around each foot (aim the scissors vertically so you are snipping from top to bottom & not in a circle around the foot). Next, whilst he is still standing, tidy/shorten the feathering.

For the front 'shirt', stand the dog so he is facing you, comb the 'shirt', trim the edges of the 'shirt' from where is falls to under and between the front legs. The 'shirt' front is shaped in a gentle curve.

Now stand the dog side on, trim the side 'skirts' by cutting a straight line from behind the elbow to the loin.  Trim down the front of the hind leg (the 'stifle') so the feathering flows neatly with the stripped lower thigh/foot.  With the dog facing away from you, trim the hind leg feathering from the point of the 'hock' bone upwards so the feathering is 'opera curtain' shaped.  Strip any areas sticking out.

The feathering falling from the front legs will also need tidying. This can be done in one of two ways. One is to stand the dog up (side on) and to cut down the edge of the feathering following the natural shape of the feathering, at an angle to show off the angulation, the other is to sit the dog, raise and hold a front paw, comb the feathering down and then cut along the line from the foot to the elbow (don't cut into the feathering, just trim the edges, follow the gradient the hair grows i.e. don't cut in a horizontal line, cut in a curved shape, as when the dog is standing the feathering will look unnatural and scissor marks will show).

For those that wish to trim their own dogs, they may find it helpful to learn from experienced show breeders. Be warned though, learning to trim a cocker correctly is not a quick process. You can watch, you can learn but ultimately it is a case of ‘practice makes perfect’.

One of the ‘arts’ to trimming a cocker correctly is KNOWING where to leave hair and where to remove hair. The cocker coat should look as it if grew naturally and should follow the contours of the body (skeleton/muscles) and have ‘feathering’ which flows seamlessly so that from front to back the dog looks as one and not several ‘sections’ of dog.

A good guide to knowing how to trim a cocker is to find a photo of a beautifully presented dog, photocopy the photo and enlarge to A3 on the copier. Pin this to the wall and use it as a ‘map’ to follow. Look at the flow of the coat, look where coat is removed and where it remains. Trim part of your dog, check the photo and keep trimming so you ‘replicate’ visually the image before you!

Trimming Time

Stripping a dog is time consuming. Clearly how long it will take you depends on how woolly the dog is, the length of time since you last trimmed him and your efficiency in working. For a dog that was trimmed in the previous 2 - 3 weeks, stripping him out (not including bathing/drying etc.) will probably take you 1 - 2 hours. For a heavily coated dog who has not been stripped for 5 - 6 weeks you will be looking at about 4 - 6 hours work. Stripping out a baby (one that has never been stripped), if the coat is ready to give (age 5 - 7 months), you are looking at about 7 hours work in total.

For the comfort and happiness of the dog, if trimming is likely to take more than 2 hours, you should take a break and let the dog have a run around, a drink and a toilet trip before continuing.

Hand stripping needs to be done regularly so that both dog and owner can keep on top of the grooming! At Powerscourt, we have a 'card index', our dogs are stripped, bathed and scissored based on their named card coming to the front of the box. When done, the card is marked with the date and goes to the back of the pile. The next card at the front is the dog next to be trimmed. Apart from holidays (& unplanned events) we aim to trim our dogs so that each is attended to every 2 - 3 weeks (this means we are trimming most days!). In-between their 'official' trimming time, they are brushed out daily & any stray hairs around the feet, under the paws and the inside of the ears are scissored away. They are also bathed and dried if required.

Clipping in a 'show' style trim

For people not showing their dogs, a shorter style can be employed, or the dog can be clippered (follow the contours of the body and leave the ‘feathering’ & feet to be trimmed by hand) or they can use a professional grooming parlour.

The dog on the left is one of our girls, she's been clipped by us in a 'show' style trim. The areas that would normally be hand stripped have been clipped, her feathering and feet have been scissored. We think this is a good compromise between the work involved in hand stripping and the benefits of clipping. She remains 'cockery' without the hours of work (and I suspect you can't quite tell whether she was trimmed by hand or with clippers. The give away though is the mottled flecks of blue roan pattern showing across her back & down her thigh!)

Grooming 'Parlours'

The end results of a dog trimmed/groomed/clipped at a grooming parlour can & do vary tremendously. Some are trimmed well and remain ‘cockery’ looking; others unfortunately come out like sheared lambs. Nothing wrong the ‘No. 1’ hair cut if that’s what an owner wants, however it can be very upsetting to arrive to collect your previously beautiful but perhaps woolly dog to find it virtually bald.

The dog on the right has been clipped by a grooming parlour. A practical and time saving trim, but perhaps a little 'generic' gundog looking rather than cockery?

If you are using a grooming parlour, our advice would be to firstly seek recommendations from other dog owners and secondly to visit the parlour and discuss cocker coat care. Ask if you can visit again when a cocker is booked in for trimming so you can see first hand what your own dog is likely to look like after a visit to the groomers! We have countless emails & phone calls a year from distressed owners, who having had their dog groomed at a grooming parlour, have literally been in floods of tears due to the appearance of the coat when the dog is returned to them.

Why coat care is important

A badly groomed or unkempt cocker not only looks bedraggled and neglected, he is also likely to be very uncomfortable. Naturally, dogs do not care what they look like, however they do care if they are knotted, matted, sore or generally uncomfortable. Neither do they wish to be weighed down by ‘pounds’ of old coat or half the forest hidden in the depths!

Having a matted & neglected coat is likely to lead to skin infections, as fresh air does not reach the skin. This is particularly evident between the toes, under the tail, in the armpits and groin and the insides of the ear - the opening to the ear canal should be kept clear of hair to allow air to reach inside the ears. Ears need a through flow of air in order to remain healthy. Bacteria that cause skin infections thrive in warm, dark and moist areas of the skin, allowing air to reach the skin is essential.

Clipping

If you are contemplating clipping your own cocker you will need to purchase some basic equipment.

1. Slicker brush - to brush the dog before clipping
2. Fine tooth comb - to comb the coat for any small tangles before clipping
3. Straight scissors - 5 1/2" long (Roseline is a reasonably priced brand) for tidying feet/inside ears etc.
4. Electric clippers - Various brands (Oster A5 are reasonably priced)
5. No. 10 blade - for the top 1/3rd of the ears/throat
6. No. 7F blade (full blade not a skip blade) - for the body/legs/head

How you decide to clip is a personal choice, if you want to mimic the appearance of the clipped dog shown above (the one clipped by us) then the feathering and ears are scissored and not clipped. Following the instructions for hand stripping, glide the clippers over the dog starting from the eyebrows, go over the head, down the spine to the tail.

Next repeat the process but move the clippers a blades width to the side of the first clipped line. Repeat until you have clipped either side of the dog down to the level of the rib bones (upper level).

Now with the dog standing sideways to you (profile view) clip down the outside of the hind legs (leave the feathering at the front and rear of each hind leg).

Clip the top of the ears, the throat down to the 'shirt' front and down the front of each foreleg. Tidy up the feet and feathering in a similar manner to the 'hand' stripping process. Trim the rear feathering with scissors.